Image

A Swooping Roof and Cantilevered Timber Columns

5 August 2025

STRUCTURE Magazine features the Fraser Mills Presentation Centre – an exhibition of timber engineering locally in Coquitlam, designed and built in collaboration with Patkau Architects and Beedie.

This unique project presented many opportunities to push the limits and explore new solutions in the world of timber engineering. The use of buildup column assemblies as the lateral system solved the absence of interior shear walls without compromising the architectural intent of large, unobstructed glazing, and ultimately, the satisfaction of the client.

Furthermore, most of the connections that were installed on site are simply bolted or screwed and therefore easily reversible when the presentation centre is no longer needed for this development and is relocated for a second life.

Click here to read the original LinkedIn post by StructureCraft.

Click here to read more on the project by StructureCraft.

WoodWorks Issue – 05 Aug 2025

Welcome

Greetings for another ’Timber-Tuesday’ from your WoodWorks team. We begin this week’s insights in Punakaiki on the west coast of the South Island.  The efficient prefabricated nature of using mass timber made it ideal for the remote but busy visitor centre.  Adding to that, the versatility of timber suited the structural resilience required for this high-wind coastal area.

Moving  to the Middle East where the glulam experts from  Red Stag TimberLab have made a 92m span bridge in Qatar.  This was a job that required precision of the fabrication so site adjustments were not necessary.

Limberlost Place, an institutional timber tower from Toronto showcases exposed timber and natural ventilation by using a solar chimney.  From British Columbia see the Fraser Mills Presentation Centre’s sweeping, free flowing roof form supported by cantilevered columns.  Lastly we examine the tallest mass timber residential structure in Toronto, could this affordable housing be the solution for New Zealand?

Finally this week, we are pleased to announce the full conference programme for our national WoodWorks Conference on 4-5 November.  Check out our speakers and site visit plan for the afternoon of Day 2 of the conference.  In coming weeks we will feature speaker and case study previews.  We look forward to seeing you there!

Editor's Signature